Relapse Into You
by D3strud0
Summary: Sequel to "Drinking You In".
1. Chapter 1

** I do not own Hannah Montana.**

Miley was ecstatic; Over the past few months, she and Lilly's relationship had grown sufficiently. Even though Lilly had gone back home to live soberly with her new sober mother, the two were inseparable.

Sure, Lilly couldn't exactly live at the Stewart house anymore, but mostly any other time, they were together, and no one could tell the difference.

Whenever Miley was with Lilly, her heart would race, and she found it nearly impossible to control herself. Any chance they got to be alone, they would explore more and more of each other's bodies.

Restless weekend nights were spent underneath Miley's covers in her bed; each girl would stroke the others smooth skin, and slowly and sensually caress the curves of the others body, as little by little, they undressed each other and released them from the clothes that bound them.

After they were both rendered naked under the covers, they would lay closely beside one another, taking in the warmth that the slightest touch sent coursing through their body. After this, they would fall asleep without going any further.

Part of Miley enjoyed the strength of their emotional interaction, but the other part hungered for more, and that hunger was getting stronger and stronger. She could sense the same hunger in Lilly.

Unfortunately, the way Robbie Ray found out about their relationship was by walking into the room after his morning jog to wake them up. After seeing his daughter naked in bed with Lilly, looking at him with a shocked expression as she pulled away from as kiss, he stared at them both, a little dumbfounded, and then slowly backed out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Miley and Lilly scrambled to throw on their clothes and anxiously went downstairs to confront their greatest fear: Their parents possibly rejecting their relationship.

They found Robbie Ray sitting at the kitchen table, still in his jogging clothes, with a blank look on his face. He glanced up at them as they approached, gazing at their nervous face, and then proceeded to double over in laughter.

Miley and Lilly exchanged worried glances as they watched Robbie Ray laugh himself nearly into tears.

"Um, Daddy…?" Miley had asked nervously.

Robbie Ray took a deep breath, and attempted to stop laughing. "I'm sorry darlin'," He said wiping a tear from his cheek. "I didn't mean to scare y'all. Look, I kinda already had my suspicions about you two, it's just, when I find out like this, it's… sorta funny, ya know?"

Miley and Lilly failed to see why it was funny. But they were glad they didn't sense any sort of rejection from him. Of course, shortly after, they were given the ground rules of seeing each other and being safe, and what was okay in the house, and what wasn't.

Luckily, no one had the guts to enforce or interject these rules, so, as long as Miley and Lilly were careful and didn't flaunt their relationship around, it was practically like nothing had changed. They were content with keeping their relationship intimate and personal.

Miley sat in her room, waiting for Lilly to arrive. She glanced out the window, her thoughts heavy on her mind. She wanted to go further with Lilly. She wanted to be closer to Lilly than anyone else. The problem was; she didn't know how to initiate it, and she could tell Lilly didn't know either. They were both being sensitive to the other's comfort level.

Miley leaned back in her chair and sighed. This was a problem that Miley couldn't solve with thought alone. She would have to be assertive and take the leap, knowing Lilly would be there to catch her.

A knock on the door interrupted Miley's thoughts and a smiled spread across her face as she heard Lilly's voice through the door.

"Miles, can I come in?"

Miley eagerly sat up from her chair and rushed towards the door. Opening it, she wrapped her arms around Lilly and pulled her into a warm kiss.

"You know you don't have to ask," Miley said, still smiling and excited that Lilly was now there. "There's no privacy between us,"

Lilly furrowed her brow and frowned, "When you say it like that, it sounds bad,"

Miley pulled Lilly further into the room by the arm and shut the door behind her. "But it's not," She whispered seductively into Lilly's ear. She could feel Lilly shiver in delight and led Lilly to the bed, laying her down and climbing on top of her to straddle her. She lowered her lips down onto Lilly's passionately and clung to Lilly's shirt, lifting it up to expose Lilly's stomach.

"You're pretty wound up today," Lilly said between breaths.

Miley pulled back and stuck out her bottom lip, showing her puppy dog pout. "You don't like it?"

Lilly smirked, and pulled Miley back down onto her. She kissed Miley heatedly and slipped her hands underneath Miley's shirt. "I _love_ it," She whispered, placing her lips close to Miley ear, before she gently bit down on Miley's ear lobe.

Miley breathed out a pleading moan for Lilly to continue, and that was just what she did. Lilly brought her tongue to Miley's ear and sucked roughly on Miley's earlobe. She teased the ridge of Miley's ear, running her tongue up and down it lightly.

Miley's grip on Lilly's hips tightened as she shuddered with pleasure. Her breath was heavy, and soon she was fearful she wouldn't be able to control herself. She could hear Lilly's low breathing in her ear

As Lilly pulled away from her ear, leaving a parting kiss on Miley's jaw line, Miley sat frozen for several seconds. This made Lilly nervous, although she knew Miley would soon respond.

Suddenly Miley attacked Lilly's lips passionately with her own. She ran her fingers across Lilly's body and lowered her body down onto Lilly's. Lilly gladly returned the sudden outburst of affection, almost unable to keep up with Miley. She pulled Miley as close as she could to her.

After some time, Miley pulled back, panting and out of breath, and gazed down adoringly at Lilly. Lilly gazed back at her with the same expression, and Miley took a deep breath. She sighed and lowered herself next to Lilly, draping her arm across her and cuddling close. She closed her eyes and reached up to kiss the side of Lilly's nose before resting her head at Lilly's side.

Lilly smiled and continued to caress the skin on Miley's back. She was happy; and so was Miley.

As the two continued to lay there in silence, Miley eventually noticed that Lilly's mind was somewhere else.

"Hey, Lil," Miley sat up slightly. "What's wrong?"

Lilly blinked and sat up as well, to face Miley. "Nothing, Miles," She smiled weakly, "I'm just kinda tired, and being here laying with you is just… so relaxing…"

Miley smiled in return, convincing herself that that was what was on Lilly's mind.

It wasn't a lie; Lilly truly did feel most at ease when she was with Miley, but there was something that was bothering her that simply being with Miley didn't erase from her mind.

That morning, Lilly had come downstairs to find her mother cradling her head in her hands.

"Mom?" Lilly asked softly as she neared, "What's wrong? Why aren't you at work?"

Heather lifted her head; it could be seen on her face that she was overwhelmed and stressed.

"Lilly… honey… I lost my job. I was laid off,"

Lilly's eyes widened and she stared at her mother in disbelief, trying to convince herself that her mother was playing a bad joke.

"What?" Lilly breathed, "What are you talking about? You're one of their best employees!"

Heather shook her head and then lowered it back into her hands. "The company is claiming bankruptcy. Everyone's out of a job,"

A long silence passed, during which, Lilly's anxieties grew, "Wh-what are we going to do? I mean… it's not like we're rolling in money; we're barely making it as it is… Sh-should I start looking for a job? I'll get a job, mom. I'll get a job, okay?"

Heather continued to shake her head, "I just don't know, Lilly,"

Another silence passed, and Lilly stirred anxiously. Finally she spoke.

"I-I'm going to Miley's. I'll be back later,"

Lilly turned to leave, not receiving a single word in return from her mother.

Replaying it in her mind made Lilly anxious all over again, and Miley would have been blind not to notice it. She sighed and sat up again.

"Lilly, seriously, what's wrong,"

Lilly sat up again too. "Miles… it's nothing. Just some problems at home. Nothing serious, just rough times,"

Miley furrowed her brow and chewed on her bottom lip. "Lill, come on… you can talk to me about it,"

Lilly turned away from Miley's gaze. She felt ashamed and embarrassed, and above all, she didn't want to worry Miley. She couldn't bring herself to talk about it.

"Lilly," Miley said sternly, grasping Lilly's hand, "You've gotta trust me… You can't keep everything to yourself,"

Lilly flinched at Miley's touch. It was hurting her not to tell Miley, but she just couldn't do it.

"Miley, I-I have to go," She said, clearly on the verge of tears. "I'll call you later,"

Lilly stood up to leave, unable to look at Miley as she walked towards the door. Miley didn't go after her; she was too upset by Lilly's reaction. As Lilly closed the door, she could hear the sound of Miley's weeping. She cringed and strong feelings of self-loathing came over her.

Lilly walked home, her mind racing in a panic. She was worried about her mother not having a job. She was worried about how she couldn't bring herself to talk to Miley, and how that had hurt Miley. She felt overwhelmed and lost.

As she approached her house, she sighed heavily, readying herself for whatever she would be walking into, and opened the front door.

"Mom, I'm home!" She called, and then waited for an answer. The house was dead quiet.

Nervously she walked through the front entrance and into the living room. She saw the figure of her mother sprawled out on the couch. As she neared her, she saw a bottle of vodka, half drunk, sitting on the coffee table beside her mother.

Lilly was surprised at how unsurprised she was to see this. She glanced sadly at her mother. Heather was curled into a ball with tearstains on her cheeks; she looked miserable.

Lilly turned her gaze to the bottle. The silence in the house seemed to encourage the overwhelming fears and anxieties to enter back into Lilly's mind.

She reached her trembling hand towards the bottle and lifted it up. She held it, studying it with her eyes, her head screaming at her to stop. Tears were building in her eyes, and as she brought the bottle to her lips, her tears slid down her cheeks onto her lips.

One sip was all it took.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Hannah Montana.**

Lilly woke up with an aching head, a sick feeling in her stomach, and a foul taste in her mouth. Groaning, she sat up in her bed and threw the covers off of herself. She recalled the previous night clearly enough to remember stumbling up the stairs and collapsing into bed with silent tears running down her cheeks.

She hadn't drunk much, but her alcohol tolerance was weak compared to what it used to be. She confiscated the bottle from her mother, and left a note on the coffee table telling her mother she had thrown it out. Unfortunately, this was not the case. She had taken it up to her room with her and thrown it in her closet shortly before throwing herself onto her bed.

Standing up from her bed, Lilly stabled herself on her feet and reached for her phone on the nightstand to see what time it was. Her phone portrayed three missed calls, all from Miley, and the time of 10:32 am.

Lilly groaned, feeling thoroughly disgusted with herself and lifted the phone to her ear after dialing Miley's number. It rang twice.

"Hello?" Miley answered anxiously.

"Hey, Miles," Lilly sighed, "Sorry I missed your calls,"

A short pause followed. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Lilly nodded to herself, "I was up late talking to my mom about a few things, and I overslept,"

Another short pause.

"Listen… Lilly… I'm sorry about yesterday…" The somber tone of Miley's voice made Lilly frown, "I shouldn't have tried to force you to tell me something. When you're ready, you can talk to me any time,"

Lilly stood in silence, guilt ridden, and then sighed. "I'm sorry too, Miles… I… I'm really upset with myself for not being able to talk to you openly… I want to, and I'm trying real hard to get to that point… I just have to get over not worrying about you worrying…"

"It's okay," Lilly could hear the soft smile in Miley's voice, "I'll wait. I trust you, and I know with time you can get there,"

Lilly smiled sadly, "Thanks, Miley,"

"So, do you want to come over? Jackson's at work all day and Daddy's meeting with Hannah's record label out of town to discuss a contract to he wont be back until tonight. It's kind of lonely here, and I was thinking we could spend the day together,"

"That sounds good," Lilly spoke softly, "B-but could you give me a few hours? There's something I gotta do…"

There was a hesitation before Miley spoke. Lilly knew it was disappointment that Miley knew Lilly was being secretive.

"Yeah, no problem," Miley said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Okay, I'll see you around 1:00,"

"Alright," Miley hesitated again, "I love you, Lil,"

Lilly smiled sadly, feeling like the worst girlfriend in the world. "I love you too, Miles,"

Lilly hung up her phone with a sigh. She took a few minutes to get dressed, picking out the most professional clothing she could find, and went downstairs.

She found her mother, sitting at the kitchen table, wearing the same clothes from last night. She had a cup of coffee in her hand and was looking successfully hung over.

"Morning, mom," Lilly greeted. Her mother glanced up at her.

"Good morning…" There was an awkward silence as Lilly pulled up a chair and sat at the table with her mother. "Lilly… I'm sorry you had to find me like that last night… I know there's no excuse… I'm just glad you remained strong and were able to deal with it the right way. I'm going to try my best to stay away from alcohol the best I can. I was at a loss, worried over our situation, and I was weak. I'm so glad you're here,"

Heather reached over and rested her hand on Lilly's, smiling weakly with tears building in her eyes. Lilly looked away guiltily.

"I'm always here for you, mom. We'll figure it out,"

To Lilly's relief, Heather relaxed and seemed to be put more at ease by Lilly's words. For the first time, she glanced at the black skirt and white button up shirt that Lilly was wearing. "You look nice. What's the occasion?"

Lilly swallowed and looked away. "I'm going job hunting,"

Heather's smile faded, "Oh, Lilly, sweetheart, you don't have to do that…"

"Don't worry about it, mom, I wanted to sometime soon anyways," Lilly dismissed her mother's concern, "I'm going to Miley's afterwards, call me if you need anything,"

Before her mother had a chance to collect her thoughts, Lilly turned to leave the kitchen, and walked out the front door.

Lilly checked several places for job openings; burger stands, coffee houses, supermarkets, clothing stores. The people she asked smiled kindly, and simply handed her an application to fill out and bring back, telling her when the manager would be in.

As 1:00 was approaching, Lilly sighed and started towards her car with a handful of applications. She hated playing the waiting game and jumping through hoops. She needed a job sooner rather than later.

"Hey," A voice stopped her as she exited the outlets. She turned and saw a stout man with greasy, groomed hair, a pale blue button up shirt, and dark slacks walking towards her. "You just came out of that CD store, right? You were standing in front of me in line,"

Lilly blinked, confused, "Oh? Is something wrong?"

The man's face turned a bright red. He was one of those people whose face changed shade very easily, and very noticeably. He lowered his gaze, embarrassed, "Well, you see, I heard you ask about a job, and get brushed off with an application. It just so happens, I've been looking for some one to be a secretary for my company,"

"Are you saying what I think you saying?" Lilly asked cautiously.

The man lifted his gaze, suddenly much more confidant. "I'm offering you a job,"

Lilly tried to keep her cool and stay realistic. "Doesn't it matter if I don't have any experience?"

"Not at all," The man reassured her much too quickly, "All I need you to do is answer the phone and transfer calls. It'd be an under the table gig, 8 bucks an hour. That's why it's been so hard to get someone. No one really likes it when you don't jump through the hoops,"

Lilly thought the whole thing was suspicious, but unfortunately, she was desperate. "I-If you're serious, I'd like to work for you,"

"That's wonderful," The man smiled, "My name is Greg Miller, by the way," He extended his hand for Lilly to shake.

Lilly shifted the stack of papers in her arms so that she could grasp the man's hand. "Lilly Truscott," She was still cautious.

"Good to meet you, Lilly," He shook her hand a little too aggressively, and once he released her, he reached into his pocket to pull out a memo pad and a pen and proceeded to scribble on it. "I assume you're still in school, Lilly, so how about 4:00-8:00 for starters sound?"

Lilly really wasn't getting a good vibe with how perfectly this was falling into her lap. "That's fine,"

Greg finished jotting down a few more things and then tore the sheet off and handed it to Lilly. "Alright, Monday through Friday, if you wanna start weekends, let me know. My place is the little shop in the corner of the outlets. The internet networking place,"

"I think I've passed by it before," Lilly nodded.

"I'll see you Monday, then,"

Lilly watched him smile and then walk away, leaving her to continue her walk to her car with an uneasy feeling in her gut. She decided that she would take it, and just be sure to be extra cautious.

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Miley opened the front door before Lilly even had a chance to knock on it. She threw her arms around Lilly, who was slightly caught off guard, and pulled her into a warm kiss, which, despite the hot Malibu heat, Lilly seemed to enjoy very much.

"I'm glad you're here," Miley said when she pulled away, leaving her arms laced behind Lilly's neck, "I missed you,"

"I missed you, too," Lilly smiled warmly, gazing adoringly into Miley's eyes.

Miley leaned to kiss Lilly's lips again. Lilly nearly fell over from Miley's forwardness, but quickly stabled herself and rested her hands on Miley's waist.

Miley's hot heavy breath nearly drove Lilly crazy, and feeling Miley's body rub lustfully against her wasn't helping either.

"Miles, l-let's go inside, okay?" Lilly managed to say once she reluctantly broke away.

Miley blushed and nodded sheepishly, embarrassed at how caught up she had gotten. She quietly went to Lilly's side, fitting her arm into Lilly's arm. They walked inside together and sat down in the living room on the couch. Miley immediately gravitated close to Lilly, burrowing under her arm and resting her head on Lilly's chest. Lilly gently put her arm around Miley and began stroking her shoulder.

"Hey, Lil, what are you all dressed up for?" Miley asked, noticing Lilly's apparel and examine the top button of her shirt with her fingers. She was aroused at the thought of unbuttoning it.

Lilly hesitated before answering. "I was out looking for a job. I lucked out and got an under the table desk gig,"

Miley's mischievous thoughts were momentarily interrupted. She looked up at Lilly curiously. "A job? Since when? And why?"

"Well," Lilly sighed and Miley sat up, "Miles… My mom lost her job,"

Miley's jaw dropped, "What? What?? Lilly, are you serious?"

Lilly lowered her head and nodded. "That's what I couldn't tell you yesterday…"

"Oh, Lilly…" Miley breathed sadly, "I'm so sorry…" She lowered herself back down into Lilly's arms and tightly wrapped her arms around her.

"It's okay, Miles," Lilly smiled and held Miley close to her. "We're gonna work through it,"

Miley chewed nervously on her bottom lip and squeezed Lilly in her arms. "I know it's a dumb question, but, is there anything I can do? I'm sure Daddy could help out if—"

Lilly hushed Miley by giving her lips a mild kiss. "You're already doing everything you need to be doing to make me happy,"

Miley blushed, and buried her face back in Lilly's chest, hiding her flushed coloring. "I love you," She whispered softly, meaning every word of it.

Lilly smiled and kissed the top of Miley's head. "I love you too, Miles,"

Not a minute later, Miley sat up. She wanted to be able to see Lilly's face. After gazing lovingly at all of her features, Miley spoke.

"Lil, you look really tired…"

"Yeah, I had one of those restless nights last night…" She was careful not to tell a direct lie.

Miley snuggled closer to Lilly. "Well, let's just relax, then. We could even take a nap, if you're tired,"

"Okay," Lilly smiled, and they both laid back, still in each other's grasp.

As Lilly lay with Miley in her arms, all of her troubles and worries disappeared. She was with Miley, and that was all she needed. Still, she was reminded by the nausea in her gut and the dull ache in her head, of the weakness that she had shown the previous night. She had drunk from the bottle once more, and fear was dwelling in her mind; she was scared of the thirst that had come back, and was continuing to haunt her.

"Lil?" Lilly's thoughts were interrupted by Miley's timid voice, "What's wrong? You're shaking…"

Lilly swallowed, and tried to compose herself. "S-sorry Miles… I'm just kinda nervous about the job I'm starting,"

"When do you work?" Miley's voice hinted that she was worried about conflicts in the time they usually spent together.

"Weekdays, 4:00-8:00. Maybe weekends,"

Miley frowned and flipped herself around so that she was facing Lilly and cuddled closer. "Will I be able to see you after you work?"

"Definitely," Lilly nodded, giving Miley a tender squeeze, "I'll make sure of it,"

Miley sighed happily, relieved by Lilly's words, and smiled. After another comfortable silence she spoke.

"Hey, Lil? Do you want to spend the night tonight?"

Lilly's thoughts went to the bottle of vodka in her closet, and then to her mother. "Yeah, I'd love to… but… Is it okay if I come over later tonight? I want to check on my mom,"

"Of course," Miley smiled and tilted her head to kiss the point of Lilly's chin.

Lilly snuggled closer to Miley, "But that can wait. First, I want to stay here with you for a while,"

Miley grinned and nuzzled her face into Lilly's shoulder. Lilly smiled and closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift off into a rare peaceful slumber.

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"Mom, I'm home," Lilly called as she entered her house. There was no answer, but the sound of the television drifted to her ears from the other room. "Mom?"

Lilly cautiously walked into the living room and found her mother passed out again, a bottle of whiskey propped up in her hand, and fresh tears running down her cheeks.

Lilly sighed, disheartened, and walked over to take the bottle from her mother's grasp. "Shit, mom. You go for the hard stuff,"

A somber numbness passed over Lilly, clouding her mind and bringing emotionless tears to her eyes. Without thinking, she took a drink from the bottle, as if it were a natural action.

Lilly felt the tingling sensation swarm throughout her body, and her mind and her thoughts left her completely. She proceeded to drink, sip by sip, unable to think clearly, or of anything else. She was running away again. Running away from her problems at home; running away from her creepy new boss, running away from the guilt of how she was indirectly hurting Miley and all the people who loved her by drinking.

Eventually, she found herself in a stupor. Desperately repeating over and over in her head, "I don't want to be drunk. I don't want to be drunk!"

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she fumbled for it. She already knew it was Miley.

"Hello?" She answered weakly.

"Lilly?" Miley's concerned voice found its way to her ears, and she wanted to cry. "Lil, are you okay? It's 9:00, are you still coming over? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, Miles… I'm on my way," Lilly said drably.

There was a pause from the other line.

"Okay…" Miley sounded worried, "I-I hope everything's okay… but… I'll see you soon… I love you,"

Tears crept from Lilly's eyes. Her voice cracked as she answered, "I love you too, Miley," She hung up the phone before she did anything else stupid.

Lilly fumbled out the door, already feeling sick. She opened the door and walked outside into the humid Malibu night. She continued forth, desperately trying to hold back her tears.

As she continued to tromp forward, she stumbled and fell. When she was down on all fours, she vomited into the street, feeling the burning liquid force its way up out of her mouth. Luckily, she avoided getting any on herself, but she had succeeded in scraping her knees and palms from the fall. She pulled herself up and continued to tromp forward.

As she neared the Stewart house, Lilly was running through what she would do once she got there, but she was subconsciously aware that she was probably in no state to pull anything elaborate off.

The porch light was on, and the house was dark, with the exception of the dull light of lamp in Miley's room. Lilly knew Miley was waiting for her. She pushed herself to the front door an opened it sloppily.

"Lilly?" Miley stood up from the couch, startled by Lilly' gruff enterance. She rushed to her side. "Lil, what's wrong? You're out of breath… Lilly?"

Miley grasped Lilly's arm, as she noticed Lilly was having trouble standing. Lilly's breath hastened, and she tried to speak through her gasps and sobs. Miley began to panic when Lilly fell to her knees and burst into tears.

"L-Lilly, come on, let's go up to my room, okay?" Miley's voice was trembling, and she was on the verge of tears. "Everything will be alright, let's just get upstairs, alright?"

Miley helped Lilly stand, and they both staggered towards the staircase. Miley helped steady Lilly, extremely concerned about Lilly's frantic emotional state. As far as her imagination was going, Lilly was having a breakdown. Alcohol was the last thing on her mind.

They entered Miley's room, and collapsed onto the bed, where Lilly proceeded to curl up into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest, and sob. Miley ran to shut her door, and then rushed back to Lilly. She knew no words would reach Lilly now, so she climbed into bed, and wrapped herself around Lilly's trembling body. She held Lilly close and rocked her back and forth while she hushed her soothingly.

There was no pointing Miley trying to hold back her own tears, so she released them. Sobbing with Lilly, clutching onto her in her arms. Lilly flopped around in the bed, desperately trying to get closer to Miley; as close as she possible could. She buried her face in Miley's shirt and shook with sobs, feeling every ounce of guilt for starting down this spiral again; and dragging everyone else down with her.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Hannah Montana. **

Lilly woke up with an aching head and a sick stomach once again. She dizzily glanced around the room and realized she was lying in Miley's bed, being warmly held in the arms of, non other than Miley herself. Lilly sighed, yet again disgusted with herself, as the events of the previous night vaguely came back to her.

Miley's eyes fluttered open, and Lilly found herself locking eyes with her. Miley's brow furrowed with concern, and when she spoke, her voice was a quivering whisper.

"Lilly, hon, are you okay?"

Lilly swallowed, trying to get the bad taste out of her mouth before she attempted to speak. She decided it would be best if she just didn't talk right away. After a timid nod, Miley sighed and pulled Lilly closer to her.

Clearing her throat, Lilly readied herself to talk.

"I'm sorry, Miles…"

Miley frowned and pulled away ever so slightly, so that she could look at Lilly. "What's going on, Lil? What's wrong?"

Lilly sighed heavily. She knew she would never be able to live with herself if she lied now; not to mention how heartbroken Miley would be when she'd find out that Lilly had lied. Lilly didn't want to put either of them through it, so she decided to tell the truth; breaking the news slow and steady.

"Miles… My mom's drinking again,"

Miley's eye's widened and a shallow gasp escaped from her throat. "Oh god, Lilly… I'm so sorry…"

"That's not all there is…" Lilly sighed, preparing herself to break the news.

"Wh-what else is there?" Miley asked nervously, not sure if she really wanted to know, even though she knew she would rather know than not know.

Lilly winced and held her breath as she saw Miley's apprehensive reaction. She finally exhaled, and shut her eyes, gathering the last bit of courage she had left. "Miles, I've been drinking the past two night… I've gone home to find my mom passed out and just… drank from what she had left out…"

Miley lowered her head, but Lilly had already seen the tears in her eyes, and felt Miley's body begin to tremble.

"Sh-shouldn't y-you talk to your mom?" Miley asked shakily, "D-don't you think she'd s-stop if she kn-knew?"

Lilly's heart ached with guilt as she watched Miley's reaction. "I… My mom's counting on me to be the strong one… I don't want her to feel like there's no hope…"

Lilly still couldn't see Miley's eyes, but she could see Miley's lips tremble and twitch, desperately trying to withhold tears. She pulled Miley into her arms.

"Miles… I'm so, so, sorry," Her voice had begun to tremble as well. "I'm so sorry… I'm such a—"

"Don't!" Miley yelled, cutting Lilly off, and startling her, "Don't… You're not anything bad. You're not worthless or weak or pathetic or anything bad that you're thinking right now…"

Lilly looked at Miley, still bewildered by her outburst. Miley sniffled, and then pulled herself up to kiss Lilly softly on the lips. When she lowered herself back down into Lilly's arms, she sighed shakily and rested her head on Lilly's, closing her eyes.

"Miles…" Lilly said sadly, but she had nothing to say at that moment.

Miley opened her eyes and smiled weakly at Lilly, her tears still fresh on her cheeks. "It's alright, Lil. We've been through this before, and we can do it again. I'm still right here to support you,"

Tears finally stung Lilly's eyes as she buried her face on Miley's shoulder and began to weep.

"I'm so lucky to have you," she whispered, "I love you so much,"

Miley smiled softly as she began to stroke Lilly's hair. "I'm the one who's lucky… and I love you too…"

Lilly cleared her throat again, trying to compose herself. "I don't want you going out of your way for me. I'm not gonna put you through that again… We can do this together. I'm not going to run away and hide, I want to face it,"

Miley laughed at how serious Lilly was, "Lilly, I know you have all the power in you to do this whole thing by yourself. But I'm not going to let you, because I love you,"

"Okay," Lilly sighed, "Just… I'm gonna be strong!"

Miley smiled at how determined Lilly was, and leaned in to kiss her again. "And I will be right by your side the entire time,"

Lilly blushed and nodded, causing Miley to giggle at Lilly's adorable embarrassment. Suddenly, she sat up and stretched out her arms with an enthusiastic moan.

"Alright! Let's not stay in bed all day! I want to spend the day with you!"

"Good," Lilly smiled and sat up as well. "Cuz I wanna spend the day with you,"

They both leaned forward simultaneously to meet lips for a lingering kiss. As they parted, they smiled warmly at each other and both stood up out of bed to get dressed.

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Lilly sat at the shore on the beach, waiting for Miley to return with water. She smiled to herself, realizing how ironic the day had turned out to be. They had ended up at the beach, and Miley had immediately gone to get water to hydrate Lilly; just like the first time Lilly had come to Miley's in a drunken state, and woken up hung over.

Lilly gazed out into the ocean, becoming lost in the crashing waves, as the memory vaguely replayed in her mind. The unpleasant feeling that lingered in her gut remained, and she winced, shivering from the cold burning that was trying to make its way up her throat. She didn't hear Miley coming up behind her.

"Here," Miley said cheerfully, extending a bottle of water for Lilly to take. "Drink up,"

Lilly glanced up at Miley and smiled, gratefully, "Thanks, again, Miles,"

Miley smiled back and sat down close to Lilly in the sand. "You're welcome," She leaned over and rested her head on Lilly's shoulder, closing her eyes. After a long silence, accompanied by the sound of the rushing waves, and Lilly taking small sips of her water, Miley sighed.

"This is nice,"

Lilly smiled, and turned her neck to kiss Miley's cheek. "Yeah. It is,"  
Again, they lost themselves in the sound of the waves for a period of time, and Miley sighed again; this time, much less contently. She sat up and looked at Lilly.

"Lilly, what are we gonna do?" She asked timidly, "About your mom, and about there being alcohol in your house, I mean…"

Lilly sighed heavily as well, and leaned back, resting on her hand. "I don't know… I guess I just have to be strong and not drink…"

Miley fidgeted nervously and scooted closer to Lilly. "You know you can always stay at our house again…" She suggested hopefully.

"No," Lilly shook her head, "I'd love to, and it'd be much safer, but I can't just leave my mom there… I'd worry about her. She needs me there,"

Miley pouted sadly and frowned, disheartened. "This whole thing… it's just… it sucks,"

"I know," Lilly's face fell.

Miley sighed again and sat up to kiss Lilly's forehead. "I guess we'll just deal with it the best we can…" She smiled softly.

Lilly nodded, realizing she had smiled back, even though she knew neither of them felt much like smiling.

"If it gets out of hand…" Miley continued as she began to stand up, "We gotta tell Daddy,"

Again, Lilly nodded, now looking up at Miley.

"And whenever you feel like you're going to give in to the urge to drink, you call me, or come over, or ask me to come over there, okay?"

Lilly laughed softly, adoring Miley for how much she had thought this out. Lilly stood up as well and nodded a third time. "Okay,"

Miley sighed, finally satisfied with all she had said. She plopped back down into the sand, leaving Lilly both amused and confused. Lilly laughed and sat back down as well.

"So," Miley said, linking her arm around Lilly's, "Are you nervous about starting your job tomorrow?"

"Kinda," Lilly swallowed. She had almost forgotten about her job with her weird boss. Suddenly she dreaded it. Then, she nodded, "Yeah. Definitely,"

Laughing, Miley leaned into Lilly's arms, "You'll do great. I know you will; and I want to hear all about it! Do you think you can come over after you're done?"

Lilly furrowed her brow and frowned, "I dunno… It depends on how my mom is doing… I can call and check with her after work, and if she seems like she's doing okay, I'd rush right over and collapse into your arms from exhaustion,"

"Okay," Miley laughed again, "I hope that's how things turn out,"

"Me too," Lilly smiled and pulled Miley closer into her arms.

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Lilly and Miley spent the rest of the day walking the beach, watching TV at the Stewart house, and snuggling on Miley's bed. Miley even went as far as to cook Lilly dinner. In Lilly's opinion, it was a picture perfect day; the kind of day that took all the worries and anxieties of tomorrow away. Before leaving, Miley insisted upon Lilly taking some of her dressy clothes for work tomorrow.

"Thanks, Miley," Lilly blushed as Miley had walked her to the door. "For today,"

Miley smiled and leaned forward to kiss Lilly tenderly on the lips. "Anytime. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Lilly nodded and grinned, "You can count on it,"

"Call me if there're any problems when you get home," Miley requested nervously.

"I will," Lilly smiled weakly.

They both lingered at either side of the door, not wanting to part, and then Lilly sighed and turned to walk away. Miley worriedly watched her walk down the driveway, and onto the sidewalk. She remained on the porch until Lilly was out of sight.

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Lilly entered her house with bated breath, dreading what she might find.

"Mom?" She called, stopping in the hall, "I'm home!"

When she didn't get an answer, Lilly sighed and reached to turn the lights on. The light switch flicked, but the lights remained off.

"That's kinda weird," Lilly mumbled to herself. "Is the power out?" She immediately discarded this theory, seeing as how the neighbor's lights had been on. Then Lilly realized, all too suddenly, that their power had been cut. Sighing, she made her way to the living room, now really dreading what shape she would find her mother in.

Upon entering the dark room, Lilly was surprised to find her mother still awake, sitting up on the couch, a half bottle of raspberry vodka tucked between her legs.

"Lilly!" Her mother exclaimed desperately as she saw her daughter standing in the room. "Lilly…" Her voice softened and sounded melancholy.

Lilly's mouth was dry; she tried to swallow. "What is it, mom?"

Heather hesitated, clumsily rubbing her hands around the bottle. "We can't give this up," She finally stated firmly, "We just can't. Life's goin' to get hard, and this'll be our only…" She started to trail off, a sad look in her eyes. Lilly was trying her best to blink back tears; seeing her mother so devastated was nearly unbearable.

"Mom…" Lilly said clearing her throat. Heather leaned back, falling into the lying position on the couch.

"'m not your mom," Heather mumbled sadly, "This is your mom. She wont let you down like I have," She referred to the bottle in her hands, which she now held onto tightly.

Lilly sniffled and walked towards her mother, removing the bottle from her grasp, and placing a blanket over her. "Get some sleep," She leaned to kiss her mother's forehead, trying not to cry any more than she already was.

After settling her mother in, Lilly lifted the bottle and walked to the kitchen. She placed it on the sink and stared at it. She knew that if it was for Miley, she would resist the urge to drink. However, as she had walked home and parted from Miley, she had lost that comfort, and the anxieties of her first day of work had begun to overwhelm her.

Lilly pulled out her cell phone, and stared at it. She decided against calling Miley, for fear of being a nuisance, and instead, set three alarms for the next morning, seeing how the power was out. Then, Lilly rested her hand on the bottle, caring less and less about holding back her tears.

The anxiety about her job was an excuse. She knew in her head, that she had made this choice, and she was filled with self-hatred and resentment as she took the first sip. No matter how many sips she took, she could still picture Miley's sad, weeping figure in her mind. She didn't even remember falling asleep.

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The next morning, Miley waited anxiously for Lilly in the quad at school. She began to worry at 7:45, 15 minutes before homeroom. Oliver showed up a few minutes after that, greeting Miley as he sat down across the table.

"Hey Miles, what's up?"

Miley glanced over at him nervously. "Not much," She glanced back towards the school entrance where she hoped to see Lilly. "Hey, Oliver, have you seen Lilly around yet?"

"Lilly? Nope, I haven't" He shook his shaggy head of hair and then flipped his hair back out of his eyes.

Miley frowned worriedly.

"You two have a fight or something?"

"Huh?" Miley glanced back at him. "Oh. No… she just should have been here by now,"

Oliver sighed and flipped his hair yet again, "Well, she'll show up. Or she's just home sick,"

Miley jerked her head to look at Oliver, scared by his words. Oliver jumped back, surprised by Miley's sudden movement.

"Wh-what? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Miley muttered, calming herself down and directing her gaze back towards the entrance.

"Sheesh," Oliver exhaled, flipping his hair back in place. "Gimme a heart attack, why don't you? Seriously, what's up, Miles? You're acting a little--"

Oliver's words were cut short as Miley shot up and ran towards the entrance at the first glimpse of Lilly walking through.

"Lilly!" She threw her arms around Lilly and felt her stagger back weakly. Miley ignored this wrapped her arms tightly around Lilly's neck in a hug. "You had me scared! I thought something had happened!"

Lilly took a moment to stable herself, and then wrapped her arms around Miley's waist. "Sorry, Miley." She whispered softly, "The power went out last night and there was no alarm," Again, she made sure not o tell a direct lie. Truthfully, she slept through her cell phone alarm, and then when awakening, found that getting ready with no power _and_ a hangover proved to be difficult.

"I'm just glad you're here. Are you excited for your job?" Miley asked nervously, trying to sound encouraging,"

Lilly glanced past Miley at the confused Oliver standing behind her and then back at Miley. "Yeah, I guess… Still pretty nervous,"

Miley lowered her voice even more. "How were things at your house last night?"

Lilly winced, and forced a smiled. "I-it was okay. My mom was asleep when I got home,"

"Had she been… drinking?" Miley's words were barely louder than her breathing.

Lilly furrowed her brow, not sure how to answer. She knew what Miley's next question would be. "W-well, yeah, but I took the bottle to the sink so she couldn't drink anymore and put her to bed,"

Miley's anxious expression softened into the features of a warm smiled, she hugged Lilly tighter and held her close. "I'm so proud of you, Lil,"

Lilly swallowed guiltily, forcing tears back and squeezed Miley back. She couldn't speak for fear her voice would quiver. They were interrupted when Oliver tapped each of them on the shoulder.

"Uh, I don't mean to break up whatever heartfelt moment you two seem to be sharing, but, the bell for homeroom already rang,"

"Oh," Miley blushed, realizing she hadn't even heard the bell. The girls separated, and avoided Oliver's confused looks as they started towards homeroom. "Alright, let's go,"

Oliver sighed, knowing neither of them was going to tell him what was going on. "Yeah, yeah,"

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The day went by way too fast for Lilly. Each class seemed half as short as usual, but at the same time, Lilly felt like crap, so it seemed to drag on. The whole situation perplexed her greatly.

During breaks and lunch, Miley was immediately glued to Lilly's side, making timid action to hold her hand, and rest her head against Lilly's shoulder. Lilly couldn't really complain; they were the best times of her day. All too soon, the day was over, and the moment Lilly dreaded was nearing.

Miley stood with her in the school parking lot, nervously fiddling with Lilly's hands in hers. "Okay… so… have a great first day, okay?"

"I'll try," Lilly sighed, lifting Miley's hand in hers and gently kissing Miley's knuckled.

Miley exhaled deeply, clearly worried. "And you'll call me after work?"

Lilly nodded and smiled softly, "Yup, after I call my mom and make sure she's okay. If she is, I'll come right over," Lilly didn't have much confidence that her mother would even be sober.

Miley seemed slightly relieved by the fact that they were on the same page. "Okay… I love you," She said tenderly as she leaned in to kiss Lilly, letting their lips linger upon each other.

Lilly smiled sadly after their lips parted. "I love you too, Miley,"

They both waited several moments, until releasing each other's hands, and then Lilly flashed Miley one last smile before turning to go to her car. "I'll talk to you soon,"

Miley nodded, and watched Lilly get into her car, start the engine, and drive away. As Lilly's car exited the parking lot and drove into the street, Miley sighed and then turned to open her car door.

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"Ah, you're here!" Greg greeted Lilly as she entered the store, "Right on time! Welcome, welcome!"

Lilly nodded and smiled the best she could. "Hi, Mr. Miller,"

Greg grinned and beckoned Lilly to walk further into the room. "You can call me Greg. No need for formalities. And your attire is quite professional! I'm impressed,"

"Thanks," Lilly followed him to the back. He motioned for her to sit down at a desk. She obeyed and looked up at him nervously. "So, what exactly am I supposed to do?"

Greg leaned over her shoulder and pointed to the phone, "It's pretty simple, really. You answer the phone and say, 'Miller Accessing, how may I direct your call?'. The caller will ask for tech support, or billing, etc, and all you have to do…" He reached over and pulled out a sheet of paper, "Is ask them to hold, and press the transfer button. Then look on this paper to see what extension to put them through to,"

"Sound easy enough," Lilly stated nervously.

"Yup, sure is. All of the tech's are in a different office building across town. This place is more of a head base than anything else. We don't get a lot of customers; only people walking in to inquire about our services. You can just give them the flyers on the front desk. If someone comes in to pay their bill, you can come get me. My office is in the back,"

"Okay," Lilly nodded, then glanced at him briefly, "Um.. I just wanted to thank you for this opportunity… It's really helping me out a lot,"

Greg smiled warmly, "No problem. You're the one doing me a favor. The customers have been complaining about an automated voice answering the phone instead of a real live person,"

Lilly cleared her throat and turned back to her desk. "Still… Thanks,"

"I'll be in my office if you need anything," Greg patted her on the back and turned to walk away.

Lilly sighed once she was alone. After about 10 minutes of sitting at her desk, she realized this was going to be a boring job for the most part, but she needed it.

Throughout the day, she answered a few phone calls, and gave out a few flyers. For the rest of the time, she was alone with her thoughts, which she thought was nice; She hadn't had a lot of time to herself to do that, and now she had time to think about Miley, and her mother, and her drinking. This turned out to be not as great as it seemed, because all it did was depress her.

"Alright," Greg said cheerfully as he exited his office, "Time to clock out!"

Lilly turned and looked at him; she had lost track of time. "Oh… Okay,"

"You did wonderful, Lilly. We've already got great comments about having you here to direct calls.

Lilly smiled weakly and nodded. "Thanks… I'm glad I could help," She got up to gather her things and leave. Her thoughts were already on calling her mother and then Miley. As she stood up, she noticed Greg watching her. "Uh… what is it?"

Greg looked at her inquisitively, and then sighed. He reached over and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Lilly. I could tell you really needed this job… and… There's something I could offer you to do to make a few extra bucks,"

Lilly hesitated, suspicious, but her need for money and her curiosity got the best of her. "Wh-what exactly are we talkin', here?"


End file.
